


Takeoff

by Fiery_Mullet



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Awkward Romance, Childhood Memories, Fluff and Humor, Keith (Voltron) Whump, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-08 20:24:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16436180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiery_Mullet/pseuds/Fiery_Mullet
Summary: Post season 7. James visits Keith at the hospital, and sees an unexpected side of the top pilot he used to hate, and has learned to... hate less.





	1. Takeoff

Carrying a basket of fruits on one hand, a man sporting a fringe neatly combed to the side, wearing a cadet uniform, was standing in front of the Galaxy Garrison hospital’s main entrance. He heard from his commanding officers that the Paladins of Voltron were already awake, but his relief and happiness upon hearing the news was short lived when they ended the statement with _‘except for the Black Lion’s pilot.’_

_‘His name is Keith. Honestly people, you can at least use it.’_ He sighed.

 

“Hey James!” A fellow pilot who had just emerged from the main entrance waved at him.

 

“Oh hey, Veronica. How’s Lance?”

 

“Keeps whining about the hospital food, so his mom said she’ll bring food from home.” Veronica chuckled. “Anyway, I gotta go back. See ya at the base.”

 

As she boarded her car, she yelled out. “Let me know how your childhood crush is doing!”

 

“Oh, shut up you.” James looked over his shoulder, grinning as he watched her car go.

 

He went into the lobby and spotted Keith’s wolf, who also noticed him and walked towards him.

 

“Hey there, buddy.” He got down on one knee to run his hand down its soft fur, making the wolf lick his cheek. The next second, half his face was covered in drool. “Easy, little fella.”

 

He was having a little too much fun until he remembered the cosmic wolf had the ability to teleport him to another dimension in the blink of an eye, prompting him to let go. As he got back up, he saw a figure approaching them, wearing a uniform similar to the one who introduced himself as the leader of the Blade of Marmora. His eyes widened when he looked at the person’s face.

 

“Keith?”

 

He knew now that Keith was part alien, but he didn’t expect his old classmate also had a Galra form. His hair was unmistakably the same mullet from the front, but was that a rattail? So apart from his skin going purple, did his alien form change his hair style as well? And wait, did he just grow at least a head taller?!

 

Keith blinked at him. Twice. Then he spoke.

 

“You must be James. My name is Krolia. I am his mother.”

 

“How did you…? Ah, no, I mean. Yes, I’m James Griffin. It is an honor to meet you, Miss Krolia.”

 

James extended his hand to (what he realized now was not ‘his’, but) her, which Krolia shook.

 

“How’s Keith?”

 

“He finally regained consciousness earlier today, but he is still weak and fell right back asleep.”

 

“I see…” James smiled bitterly.

 

“You can go see him if you’d like. The wolf is getting restless so I’m taking him out for a walk. Room 1023.”

 

“Thank you, ma’am.”  He nodded then headed for the elevator.

 

-

 

“Let’s see… room 1023. Ah, here it is.”

 

James knocked on the door before turning the knob. Another, much taller Galra wearing the same uniform as Keith’s mother was standing over the bed, fixing Keith’s blanket. His smile was so gentle, it moved even James, until he looked the visitor’s way with a far more intimidating face. This was truly the man who stood on top of the universe’s most powerful secret organization.

 

James nodded stiffly. Kolivan moved back from the bed and leaned on the wall, arms crossed. James took that as his cue to proceed, but as he walked towards the bed and laid the basket filled with fruits on the bedside table, he could feel the man’s gaze on him. He was watching him like a hawk.

 

The tension instantly melted away when his eyes fell on Keith’s sleeping form. He looked even smaller laying on the big hospital bed, reminding him of the quiet, grumpy kid he knew back from their school days together.  He thought back on their mission to escort the paladins of Voltron back to the base. During their briefing, they were told the five paladins were Lieutenant Shirogane, the Altean princess, and the three cadets who went missing along with the blue lion. There was barely any mention of the fourth, former cadet. The kid who was dismissed for ‘discipline issues’.

 

James frowned at the memory. Even before the Kerberos mission was launched, Keith had considerably changed from the one he knew back in school. As much as he hated to admit it, the Keith he remembered in the Galaxy Garrison could indeed out-fly anyone in the building. But above that, he could see how Keith’s flight partners looked at him with admiration and treated him with respect. Even though they’ve gone on separate ways, it was enough to tell James what an amazing person the “hot head” had become. And enough for him to believe that Keith being dismissed for discipline issues was total bull shit.

 

He snapped out of his thoughts when Keith stirred. His pale eyelids slowly parted open, gaze fixed on the ceiling before he looked James’ way.

 

“Hey Ke-“

 

James’ breath got caught in his throat when their eyes locked. It was the first time he had ever seen Keith’s eyes this close. It was far more beautiful than even the purest grade stones he had ever seen in the jewelry stores he went to with his previous girlfriends. A weak smile softened Keith’s features,  rendering him frozen in place, unable to look away. It was only after Keith’s eyes drifted close again that he remembered to breathe.

 

“He’s stable now, but he’s still very weak. Just as you saw, he’d wake up but fall right back asleep. Sometimes he’d sit up to drink water, but that’s about the longest he has been able to stay awake.”

 

James jumped when he heard Krolia speak beside him.

 

‘How- Wha- Oh. The wolf.’

 

“I brought some fruits.” He grinned awkwardly. Shifting his gaze from Krolia back to Keith’s sleeping face, he smirked and spoke with a playful tone. “Hey Keith, I’m glad you grew a little bigger since I last saw you. But if you keep this up, you’re gonna shrink, man. You better eat, okay?”

 

As if Keith heard his words, the boy stirred again. His eyes opened, he looked at James, and then promptly pouted, eliciting a hearty laughter from his fellow top pilot. James picked up an apple and started to peel one as Krolia helped her son up and fixed the pillow behind him.

 

“Say ah!”

 

James was not surprised when Keith obediently opened his mouth and quietly ate. Keith was aggressive only when needed… or provoked. Most of the time he was docile just like this. Before Keith could finish half of the fruit, he fell right back asleep.

 

From the corner of his eye, James saw Kosmo looking up at him. Or more like the slice of apple in his hand. Chuckling, he gave it to the waiting wolf.

 

“Here ya go, lil buddy."

 

Giving in to curiosity, James asked Krolia the question he had been dying to know the answer to.

 

“How do I get a cosmic wolf like this? Where did you find him?”

 

“We found him when Keith and I were stranded on the back of a giant creature travelling through the Quantum Abyss. He was just a pup, and Keith saved him. He has never left his side ever since.”

 

“Quantum Abyss… I can only imagine what it’s like. That sounds so awesome.”

 

“It was. But more importantly, it gave me a chance to know my son better. Collapsing time allowed me to see glimpses of his past. I saw you in my son’s memories as well.”

 

“I see. So that’s how you recognized me. Keith and I-“ His communicator beeped, cutting off whatever James was about to say. “Looks like I need to go. Thank you for letting me see your son.”

 

He shook Krolia’s hand, and nervously nodded to Kolivan on his way out. As he was walking towards the elevator, his mind floated to Keith quietly eating apples from his hand, and it made his chest grow warm. However, the goofy smile plastered on his face was instantly wiped off when he remembered Krolia’s words.

 

_‘Collapsing time allowed me to see glimpses of his past. I saw you in my son’s memories as well.’_

 

His footsteps came to a halt as he remembered his last memory with Keith.

 

_‘Oh yeah? Is that what mommy and daddy told you before they-‘_

 

“Oh sh-”

 

 

End.


	2. Falling is Like This

The mysterious robot’s explosion, just as Pidge predicted, was so powerful that it blasted their Lions away. The force of the impact sent Keith flying off his seat, crashing into various walls of the cockpit as the Black Lion spun around before finally entering the Earth’s atmosphere. After temporarily blacking out, he forced himself up despite his head pounding and crawled to the pilot seat. He felt something trickle down his temple, from the spot where the throbbing pain seemed to be coming from.

 

“Guys? Is everyone… okay?” He managed to groan, voice weak.

 

Getting no response, he figured they might have passed out like he did. He pressed some buttons on the panel, quickly scanning for the other Lions’ coordinates.

 

_‘Judging from their trajectory, the Blue Lion seems to be heading for the ocean, the Green Lion has just landed on the forest. Two MFE’s are headed their way. Red seems to be following me towards the same path… Oh no.’_

The Yellow Lion was headed straight for the mine site where the Zaiforge canons were built. The heat signatures showed there were still people in it. If the Yellow Lion crashed there, there would be casualties.

“Hunk? Hunk?!” There was not a word from the Yellow Paladin. “Come on… Hunk… Anyone!!!”

 

“Keith! It’s James. What’s going on?”

 

The radar on his left showed the third MFE had just launched from the Atlas, which was fortunately not that far from where the Yellow Lion was going.

 

“James… Yellow Lion… is on your three. Fire with… everything you’ve got. The armor… should be strong enough… to survive the blast...” Keith struggled to talk from the merciless pounding of his head.

 

“What? But why?”

 

“Just do it! NOW!”

 

At those words, James fired at the Yellow Lion, successfully changing the path of its fall. To his right, he saw that the Red Lion had just landed not too far from the outskirts of the Galaxy Garrison, while his own Lion seemed to be falling right smack into it. Just when he thought it was okay since everyone had abandoned the Garrison, heat signatures registered on his panel. There were officers on the ground, medics headed for the Red Lion and another group that seemed to be on standby for the Black Lion as well.

 

Using the last of his strength, he maneuvered his Lion as far away from the heat signatures as possible. Buildings be damned, he’d rather crash into them than people. His Lion plummeted to the ground and that was the last thing he remembered before everything went black.

 

-

 

Keith felt so weak, as if even breathing needed effort. He could feel something tightly wrapped around his head. He could tell that he was already conscious, at least, but his eyelids felt heavy. He was still groggy anyway, so he considered going right back to sleep. Except, his quintessence sensitivity kicked in, and he could feel a familiar energy. Two different ones, one of which he had known far longer than the other. His feeling of longing far outweighed the fatigue engulfing his entire body and he forced his eyes open.

 

Head slightly to the side, the first thing he saw was the wall, before he turned his gaze towards where the soothing warmth was coming from. His eyes fell on his mother, who had the gentlest smile. Keith felt relief wash over him. Had he not been physically incapable to do so at the moment, he would’ve lunged and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. But as it was, he didn’t even have the strength to move, let alone get up.

 

Kolivan was sitting on the windowsill, and Keith was surprised to see him grinning for the first time since the day they met. His smile wasn’t that of relief, but one filled with confidence. It’s as if he was telling the little Blade he knew he’d make it through.

 

There was so much he wanted to tell them and ask them, but all he could manage was a weak smile. Even that felt like it drained him of all his energy, sending him right back to sleep.

 

_‘You’re home, Mom.’_

 

-

 

The next few times he regained consciousness, he could only stay awake long enough to take a few sips of water. He lost track of how long he was out in between, but when he woke up again, Krolia was no longer on sitting on his bedside. She wasn’t even in the room at all.

 

The one who _was_ there was the last person he expected to see. It was, however, also the MFE pilot he talked to before his Lion crashed. He was so relieved knowing someone was going to make it in time to stop the Yellow Lion from crashing in the mines, causing harm to everyone there especially Hunk’s family. He knew the Yellow Paladin would never be able to forgive himself.

 

“Hey Ke-“

 

He looked James’ way, and their eyes locked.

 

 _‘Thanks, James…’_ He wanted to say, but all he could manage was a weak smile.

 

James only stared at him, unblinking. Keith waited to see if the other pilot was going to say anything, but he just continued to look at him, mouth gaping. Waiting for James to speak zapped him of his energy, and Keith’s eyes drifted close.

 

Instead, it was Krolia who spoke. “He’s stable now, but he’s still very weak. Just as you saw, he’d wake up but fall right back asleep. Sometimes he’d sit up to drink water, but that’s about the longest he has been able to stay awake.”

 

 _‘Oh. Mom’s back. I can feel you, too, buddy’_ Keith thought absently. As his consciousness started to fade, the only thing on his mind was _‘What’s up with this guy? Why is he… staring…’_

 

He was already at the edge of sleep when James finally said something. “I brought some fruits.”

 

Even Keith could hear the awkward tone of his voice.

 

 _‘Must have been startled by Kosmo. Heh.’_ Keith could feel the beginnings of a smirk.

 

However, the next words that came out of James’ mouth made the leader of Voltron want to hurl the leader of the MFE pilots out the window.

 

“Hey Keith, I’m glad you grew a little bigger since I last saw you. But if you keep this up, you’re gonna shrink, man. You better eat, okay?”

 

It was a good thing Keith only had enough energy to do the next best thing. He pouted. But it only backfired and elicited a hearty laughter out of James. James then picked up an apple and started to peel one, as Krolia helped her son up and fixed the pillow behind him.

 

“Say ah!”

  

Keith opened his mouth and took a bite of the apple slice on James’ hand. The temptation to bite his fingers was too strong, Keith mused, eyes drooping. But the apple was nice and sweet, and the ripeness was just right. For that, he was thankful.

 

After taking a few more bites, Keith was at the limit of his strength. Even the simple act of eating drained his energy, and before he could even finish half the fruit, he conked out. He made a mental note to thank James if he was still there the next time he woke up.

 

 

The End. For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Planning to continue this as inspiration strikes :D For now, I hope you do enjoy this :D


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